The major element in a prefabricated indicia receiving board such as a chalkboard, or marking board is the board itself which presents a substantially planar indicia receiving or writing surface. Thus, the board has height and breadth, but the framing and mounting of said board requires very little depth. The second major element of the indicia receiving board is a rail along the bottom of the board which projects from said board and which requires sufficient depth to provide a resting ledge or shelf for articles necessary or convienient for the creation, affixation, and removal of indicia from the receiving surface. Typically, the transverse depth or width of the rail is several times the depth of the framing and the board itself which presents the indicia receiving or writing surface of said board. This projection of the rail at the extreme bottom edge of the prefabricated board, substantially complicates the shipping of an otherwise planar board. This is particularly true because it is far more convenient, in shipping wholesale lots, to package in conventional, rectangular shapes. Thus, cartons for shipping individual boards have heretofore been uniform in thickness at a depth that is required to accommodate their rails. In such a uniform package, provision must be made to secure the board within the carton and to support the empty voids within the carton. These voids, necessary for the geometry of a conventional board constitute the vast majority of the volume within the carton. Without supporting these voids, stationary rails are dangerously exposed, in that, their relatively small areas otherwise support all loading across the face of the cartons. One solution is to provide support throughout the depth of a standarized container by inserting substantial volumes of interior packaging materials. However, these materials represent a significant expense and addition to shipping weight in wholesale lots.
Neither is the use of nonrigid members or partially assembled boards satisfactory.